tough news.

Don't Go Ballistic, But...

April 11, 1995

There's grim news on the nuclear front:

- Russia said it would not cancel plans to sell nuclear reactors to Iran. The Clinton administration has said giving Iran nuclear technology could help thecountry develop nuclear weapons. But Russian Prime Minister Viktor Chernomyrdin said last week that Russia was confident it could keep a lid on any problems. U.S. Defense Secretary William Perry said at a news conference, "I told him I did not share that confidence."

- It will cost taxpayers $230 billion over 75 years to clean up the environmental mess left by the U.S. nuclear weapons program, the Energy Department said last week. Then most of the 130 nuclear sites in 30 states could be safe for limited use. (This doesn't count nuclear explosion sites; no technology exists to deal with the deeply contaminated soil.)